Folding umbrella.



W. GILDOW & IVI. SCHOCK.

FOLDING- UMBRELLA.

APPLICATION FILED 1,111.9, 1917.

1,280,888. Patented June 26, 1917.

2 `SHEETS-SHEET 1.

& M. 90k/oc A',

W. GILDOW & IVI. SCHOCK.

FOLDING UMBRELLA.

APPLICATION FILED 1,111.9,191L

Patented Jim@ 26,1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

me/Mofas: W Gan/dow M. Sick/00%,

WILLIAM GIL'DOW AND MYRON SCHOCK, OF OAK HARBOR, WASHINGTON.

v FOLDING UMBRELLA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 26, 1917.

Application led January 9, 1917. Serial No. 141,413.

T 0 all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that we, WILLIAM GILDow and MYRON ScHocK, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Oak Harbor, in the county of Island and Stateof Washington,- have invented certain new and useful ,Im-

kind which fold into a length approximately one-half the length of a ribof the umbrella as ordinarily constructed. Another important purposeparticularly is to give a constructionV of stemy and handle which areparticularly adapted to use in` ladies umbrellas and parasols, orothers, in which a very long handle is' employed, providing a`construction and f arrangement whereby such parts may be folded andcollapsed into as small a length as desiredwithout multiplying the.number of joints needlessly, nor complicating the manufacture of such fan appliance objectionably. Another object is to give a constructionwhich is adapted to permit ready disposal of the ferrule lof theumbrella within the folded parts, without requiring the ferrule to bespecially manipulated or detached. Another important aim is to give aconstruction in which the securement of the device either in folded orin extended position will not require the provision of any latches orpush buttons projecting from the-Y sides of the handlernor salientlynoticeable. l give a desirable form 0f central j ointin the stem whichwill not tend to collapse, but on the contrary will tend to move intoextended position under the action of ay spring associated therewith.

v An additional object is to give an improved form of handle joint.Further objects, advantages and features of invention lie in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of the parts as herinafterdescribed and Y shown in the drawings, wherein,

Figure 1 is an elevational view of an umbrella frame constructed 1naccordance with, our invention, in extended position,

A further yimporta-nt object is toy Fig. 2 is a sectional view of thedevice in folded position,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the central stem joint, v y

Fig. 4L is an enlarged view joint,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the stem from itscentral joint upwardly, in extended position,

Fig. 6 is a detail of the rib joint, extended,

Fig. 7 is a detail of the sliding sleeve,

Fig. 8 is a detail of the upper stem section,

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail of the clamping device.

Y There is illustrated an umbrella frame including the stem body A,andhandle B, upon which ribs C of a suitable-construction are mounted.

The stem portion includes va lower section 10, and an upper section 11,the upper section' being sufficiently large to receive the upper end ofthe lower section slidably therein a distance. Each .is formed ofsuitable steel tubing, such as is customarily ,employed for suchpurposes. The section 10 is a plain cylindrical tube slotted on oppositesides at its upperpart and having a hinge link 12 pivoted therein formovement into the slot to a position at right angles to the stem. Theopposite end of this link is connected to a tube .13 of the samediameter as the lower stem portion 10, slidable in the upper section 11,and connected at its outer end to a ferrule member 14, also slidable inthe upper section 11 of the stem. Confined in the outer part of the tube13 there is a'helical spring 15, secured at its inner end to a pin 16fixed through the upper section 11 of the stem, the tube 13 havingslotson opposite sides permitting it to slide inwardly with relation tothe pin 16. The spring is thus active to force the yferrule 14, tube 13and stem section 1() toward the outer limit of their movement withrelation to the upper section 11, this outward movement being limited bythe pin 16V engaging the inner end of the slot in the tube 13. When atthe outer position the hinge link. 12 is drawn of the handle sleeve 17is screwed into place.

upwardly into the upper section 11 and the section 10 of the stem alsoprojects into the upper section a short distance. The upper section isextei'iorly threaded at its inner' end, and has engaged thereon aninternally threaded sleeve 17 reduced in diameter at its inner or lowerpart to lit snugly around the lower section 10 of the stem, havingtapered inner surface adapted to compress a split ring 1S locatedloosely within ,Y

" downwardly clearing the hinge link 12 from the upper section andypermitting it to be folded as shown in Fig. 2. In order Ithat when infolded position the action of the spring 13 will not tend to draw thedevice 'f' into extended position, the pivoted end of the 'link ynextthe upper section of the Vstein is arranged to extend across the end ofthe stem and rest on opposite sides of the sleeve 17, ,as illustrated.

The upper end of the upper stem section is provided with the usual crown`piece19, to which upper rib sections 2O of thel usual U- shape in crosssection are connected -in the customary manner. Bracing ribs 21 areconnected to the outer ends of these upper rib sections 20, and at theirinner ends are connected to a crown piece 22 carried by a sliding'sleeve 23 of a. suitablelength to rest against Athe sleeve 17 when theumbrella 'is extended in normal position and hoisted, so1 that the'brace and rib extend at approximately the lsame :angle froin-the stem. Asuitable vslight enlargement 24 may be formed on the lower` end o'f thesliding sleeve if desired, although this is not considered essential,and is done principally to give an attractive appearance to theappliance, and indicate that `the sleeve 23 is to be manipulated.Pivotally connected to the upper rib section 20 there is an outer ribysection 25, the outer part of which may be the same as that of 'theordinary *umbrella rib. The pivotal connection is made by means of alink 26 of suitable material connected pivotally to the adjacent'ends'of thel rib sections 2O and 25, the central portion ofl the ribsection ends are cut away 'to form ears pivoted on the linkina'suitablelmanner, so that the outer rib section'may be foldedoutwardly'and backwardly upon the inner section, and the link issuitably extended beneath the rib sections to support them firmly inextended position and prevent breaking of the joints downwardly.

The lower end of the stem section 10 is crimped or turned inwardly tovengage snugly around the stem portion of a telescoping link 27, locatedin the handle B. This link is formed with a head 28 at its upper endlitting snugly and slidably in the lower stem section 10, and adapted toengage against Vthe inturned portionk of the stem section when drawndownwardly. The handle B is formed with an ornamental bodyvportion 29,having the cylindrical passage 30 therethrough opening on its upper end,and in the present Yinstance the handle may be considered as formed vofwood. In this event' a bushing sleeve 31 is irixed in the uppenend ofthe handle, of suitable Size to receive the lower stem section 10 snuglyand slid'ably, andthe telescopi-ng link 27 is provided with ahead 32-fitting'snugly in the passage 30 and adapted to engage' againstthelower end of thebushing 31 when drawn outwardly to fullest extent.The link is of such length that it will be checked 'by the lower end ofthe bushing 31 when the lower end of the stem ysection 1() is stillengaged a sufficient distance within the bushing to form a rigidconnection. The bushing 31 is exteriorly threaded at its outer end,projecting a slightjdistance beyond the wood portion'29 of the handle,and receives thereon la clamping sleeve 17,similart`o the one17 beforedescribed, except slightly larger, which operates to compressy a splitclamping ring 1S similar to the one 18 before mentioned, whereby -thelower stem section maybe seciirely lockedl in extended positionVorclosed position, as desired.

It is important to notice that the link 2G in the showing of theumbrella rib is formed with a'small lintermediate transverse aperture 33so that when a cover is secured upon the frame it may be attached to thelink and the proper folding of the cover at the same time with the framethereby assured.

In use, in order to fold the device, when it is extended, it is simplynecessary to iinlscrewthe clamp sleeves 17 and 17 a short distance',grasping the sliding sleeve 23 in onev hand land 'drawing `outwardlyupon the handle 'of the'l umbrella with the other, while the ferrule ispointed downwardlyin order to cause: :the outer parts ofy the ribs andcover to fold properly. This will -move the sleeve toward the ferrule,and after the rib braces .have'pas'sed a position at right angles to thestein Vwill cause the braces to draw the rib joints inwardly toward thestem. The inward V'movement of the ribs will then interfere withztheinsertion ofthe hand further therebetween, and the remainder of themovement may be accomplished by the ribs and bearing them all'inwardlytograsping ward the stem. The outer rib sections are caused to falldownwardly by gravity, folding the outer part of the cover neatly'against the inner part, as will be understood. After the foldingmovement of the ribs has begun, or after it has been completed, ifdesired, the stem section 11 or the folded ribs may be firmly'graspedand the handle or lower stem portion drawn outwardly with such force asto compress the spring 15, drawing the ferrule inwardly until its outerend lies even with the outer end of the ribs when folded and the hingedlink 12 is'moved'clear of the upper stem section and may be folded intocrosswise position. The handle B is then forced inwardly on the stemsection 10 until it strikes against the hinge link, which may also beextended beyond the pivot adjacent its lower stem section so as toengage across both sides of the handle when thus positioned, and bytightening the clamp sleeve 17 unfolding of the handle portion withrespect to the hinged link will be prevented.`

It will be seen that a very compact folding umbrella with elements ofextreme simplicity is provided, the use of which is attended with aminimum of difficulty and complications, and the manufacture of whichmay be accomplished at an extremely low cost.

It should be noted that the links 26 in the ribs are of a suiiicientlength to cause the inner and outer rib sections to lie in spacedrelation when folded, giving ample room for the accommodation of thecover therebetween when folded without liability of pinching thereofwith consequent damage. The intermediate portions of the rib ends arecut away so as to strike against the link when folded into parallelrelation,thereby checking further folding movement and preventingchafing of the fabric of the cover between the rib sections.

What is claimed is:

l. In an umbrella of the character described, a stem constructionincluding an upper tubular stem element, a ferrule longitudinallyslidable therein and adapted to project from the outer end, a secondmember slidable in the stem section, a spring sup- .port carried by saidstem section, a spring confined between said support` and said ferrulesaid second named member connected to said ferrule, under tension toproject the ferrule to the outer limit of its movement, a hingerlinkconnected to the inner end of said second named member positioned to liewithin said stem sections when the ferrule is at the outer limit of itsmovement, a lower stem section connected to the hinged link, andextending a distance within the upper stem section when the ferrule isat the outer limit of its movement, and a handle section adapted to bedisposed in paralproject therefrom, a sliding tube in the ferrulesection connected to the ferrule, a hinge link connected to the oppositeend of the tube, a lower stem section connected to the link, saidconnections and link being disposed and arranged to lie within the saidstem section when the ferrule is normally projected, said tube having alongitudinal slot therein, a pin fixed in the stem section and extendingthrough the slot, and a spring confined between the pin and the ferrule,under tension to project the ferrule to its outermost position.

3. In an umbrella, two stem sections, a sliding element in one,resilient means tending to move the sliding element thereinto, a hingelink connected between said sliding element and the other stem section,said link being extended at each end to project over opposite sides ofthe respective stem .sections, and a telescoping handle element adaptedto be moved on said other stem section into close abutting engagementwith said link, and means to secure the telescoping element in adjustedposition.

4. In an umbrella, a tubular stem section, a sliding element therein,resilient means engaged with the sliding element and stem sectiontending to draw the sliding velement into the stem section, a hinge linkpivoted on said sliding element having projecting end portions adaptedto extend across both sides of the stem sections when drawn outwardlyand disposed at right angles thereto, for the purposes described, and asecond section connected to the link having a portion to engage in saidstem element.

5. An umbrella of the character described comprising stem elementsincluding an upper section, a crown at the outer end of the upper stemsection, inner rib sections pivot- Y ally connected to the crown, asliding sleeve on said stem section, a crown on the sliding sleeve,braces pivoted on the crown last mentioned and connected at their outerends to the outer ends of said upper rib section, means to limitdownward movement of the sleeve at a position with the braces in normalsupporting relation to the upper rib sections, the sleeve being slidableinto position with its crown in close relation to the first named crown,said braces being of a length to lie in close parallel relation with theupper rib sections when at the inner limit of their movement, and outerrib sections pivotally connected to the first named section respectivelyand foldable outwardly and upwardly into close relation therewith.

6. In an umbrella of the character described a tubular stem section, aheaded link lit Lsnugly in the passage, said handle element having abushing element therein engaged snugly around thestem element andextending inwardly a distance to engage the head of the link to limitits outward move@ ment and the outward movement of the stem section jasdescribed7 and means to secure the handle velement and stem sectionagainst relative sliding movement.

ln testimony whereof We `have aflixedA our 15 signatures in'gpresenee'of t-Wo Witnesses.

WILLIAMeinDoW;

Y MYRON SCHOGK. l/litnesses;i

J.y PRATT,' Mrs. H. Gr. PRATT'.

Col-)hives f-'thisfpatent'may be obtained -for ve cents each, hyaddressing the Commissioner 'of Patents,

' I WafihingOn, D; C`.

